Once Upon a Time
by Sulfur Dusk
Summary: AU - Yuugi never believed in magic. Now, stripped of his memories and armed only with his wit and intelligence, he must team up with a savagely sexy pirate and traverse a very odd, twisted fairytale, meeting colorful characters like the blonde gingerbread man, a freedom-fighting mermaid and an entrancing red-eyed villain. Embrace the craziness. Mobiumshipping.


**Title:**_ Once Upon a Time_

**Rating: **_M_

**Genre: **_Drama/Humor/Supernatural/Fantasy/Action/Adventure/ Romance_

**Coupling: **_Mobiumshipping_

**Setting: **_Alternate Universe_

**Disclaimer: **_Disclaimed_

**Summary: **_Yuugi Mutou, a college senior, is trapped in the strangest fairytale ever with nothing to remember of his real world life other than his name. Stuck between multiple fantastical worlds, the laws of physics and trope-ridden storytelling takes over his existence, and soon he finds himself ensnared in a partnership with an estranged pirate with more secrets than stories to count. Through this journey they encounter a comical blonde gingerbread man, a freedom-fighting brunette mermaid, a spoilt princess, a gorgeous red-eyed villain with two sides to his twisted story, and much more. What's a young man to do now…? Embrace the craziness, of course._

* * *

**A/N: I've never seen the TV series **_**Once Upon a Time**_**, and this story has absolutely nothing to do with it other than the idea of crazy fairytales and such… I guess. Hopefully though, you will enjoy this. I had a lot of fun writing it and Mobiumshipping is becoming a prominent staple for me… I don't like it as much as Puzzleshipping/Blindshipping in general but it's quite awesome and this idea will incorporate it in hopefully a new light. :)**

**Oh yeah! And this story probably won't be updated until **_**The Boy in the Black Sweater **_**receives its third chapter… but until then! Please enjoy everyone, especially you fellow Mobiumshipping junkies!**

* * *

01

* * *

_**The First Chapter Starts Like This…**_

* * *

It was supposed to be a normal, casual, danger-free, exhilarating, exhausting, genuine, collaterally undamaging non-emotionally-scarring night. Of course, while tagging along with the strange, offset people that some delusional morons actually considered to be his _friends_, Yuugi constantly found himself in one predicament after the other. With his collar flipped up and his stonewashed jeans covered in splotches of torn asphalt, his hair a complete ragtag mess and his eyes bruised purple, he looked like a homeless teenager. Normally that would have been a nicer general assumption than someone confusing him for a shoeshine boy who'd lost his way, but that was another story to tell altogether.

_The Blackjack _was a club-slash-music bar located just three blocks downtown from the University of Chicago. The windows were frosted white, the fingerprints of passersby dappling the surface and the trademark blistering winds carrying through the bar in record-breaking low temperatures. Suppressing a cough, Yuugi rubbed his throat with his gloved hand and resorted to scanning his surroundings with empty glasses sitting in front of him, like forgotten passengers on an airplane.

"Already had enough sweetie?" the blonde waitress questioned, currently taking over the other bartender's position. She was a rather tall and curvy woman, with long curls of shining hair tumbling down to the middle of her back, a faint gloss of pink dashed over her lips and purple eye shadow painted on her eyelids. She batted her lashes in amusement once the stared at her with bemused puppy eyes through the glass of his half-finished jug. "Your friends left a couple hours ago… I'd have thought you would tag along with them."

Pulsing vibrations coursed through the man's temples and he resisted the urge to rub them. He sat up and sighed, running a finger through his hair. "I'm not drunk. Just tired." Despite that, a slur laced through his voice and he found that he was close to stuttering. "I didn't even want to come."

The woman—Mai—smiled and shook her head. "Perhaps you should just go, kiddo. I can clean this up by myself. I won't even make you pay for them if you really can't… because it looked like one of your friends took your wallet." The man's eyes bulged and he quickly searched is pockets, and stared at her as she laughed. "That was a _test_. You're right, you're not drunk, but I had to be sure."

"Very funny," he mumbled in reply, spinning around on his stool and glancing around the room in annoyance. "Did they really leave?" He answered his own question. All that was left in _The Blackjack _was the quiet jukebox in the corner, a table surrounded with old men playing a game of cards and a couple weirdoes sharing cigars. He swallowed and buried his face into his hands. He was going to _die _in classes tomorrow if he didn't get his ass up and leave.

"Of course you don't actually _have _to leave. I get bored easily." Mai shrugged, forgetting the towel rag that she used to clean the beer glasses. She drifted around the countertop and stood beside him, propping her elbow up and balancing her chin on the palm of her hand. "What's eating you, kiddo? You look like you have a lot on your plate."

Yuugi blinked lazily and stared at her. "I guess I do. But at the same time…" he trailed off, remembering just how many tests he had to study for, how many papers he had to write, and how many friends he had to cheer during athletic games… and then he realized that the last bullet point couldn't exist and he scratched that off his checklist. Did he have any friends? Did he have a social life at _all_? No, actually… he didn't, and that was his own fault.

"Or you're lying to me," the blonde woman muttered softly, a gentle glimmer passing through those dark eyes. "If you need to talk I'll be here for a little while longer." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "My husband will worry for me unless I return home soon." She clicked her tongue in thought.

"It's fine," the male replied, a certain dryness swelling at the tip of his tongue. He glanced through the frigid windows and subconsciously rubbed his gloves together. It would be too cold outside to travel back to his apartment now, even when classes were only six or seven hours away. Maybe skipping sleep was necessary if he was going to finish that Communications paper by tomorrow…

A thousand different thoughts and reminders zipped through his head like bullet trains. Alcohol clouded his brain and the comforting violin music radiating from the jukebox made him want to fall asleep right then and there. Honestly, if there were no one else around and he knew he was alone to his thoughts, he would have. He was tired and the last thing he wanted to do was head back and receive the blunt end of the punishment that the people who dragged him here would have to endure.

Mai eventually gave up trying to talk to him and resorted to cleaning the rest of the countertop. Minutes passed, and Yuugi remained, fixated on different details, scattered thoughts and a poorly organized plot that he tried to run through his brain.

He chose to major in journalism at the University of Chicago due to his honed writing skills and genuine perceptiveness, and so he considered just remaining in the music bar and observing the passersby. That was a genuine pastime for aspiring writers, correct? Nothing totally weird about it… well maybe there was, but at this point he wasn't going to question it. When he was barely thirteen he showed a fascination with stories and interviews and news anchors, and he begged his grandfather to allow him to pursue that dream, to someday speak to the world across a television screen and address the issues that _he _wanted to talk about, that _he _wrote about.

Of course, growing up in Arizona at the time had its downsides. He attended a very small school, with little to none of a student body (barely over a hundred male and female students combined) and his grandfather was not anxious to send him away to Illinois to attend school several years later. It took Yuugi a long period of bribes and unbreakable promises to convince his grandfather that it was okay for him to travel, and the University of Chicago was a prestigious school that had exactly what he wanted. The weather, however, was entirely different than what he was used to: the piping hot sun of Arizona sizzled in the background once he stepped onto the snow-covered sidewalks of Chicago.

Unfortunately, like his previous problems in high school, he failed to make any new friends or journey outside of the classroom at appropriate times. Some buffoons high on marijuana and cocaine dragged him here out of amusement and, like he should have expected, they abandoned him to deal with the bill. Maybe he needed to learn to be more careful, and every time he fell for something like this during school he felt the voice of his grandfather course like a melody through his head: _you can be quite gullible, Yuugi. It's why I worry so much._

His fists clenched. He needed to take his mind off of this before it got worse. Wrinkling his nose, he surveyed the way his fingers gripped his drink and how the world seem to close in on him at the worst times. _The Blackjack _was one of those places that tried to make its customers feel like they could escape anything—when those other students were hanging around they were basically animals. He was embarrassed to be with them at all.

Apparently, to what he was able to see, this place was open twenty-four hours a day, and the people that walked through were usually wrapped in leather and studded in silver. The least-odd person around was himself and he didn't look so hot either; his clothes were ragged, slightly damp from clammy sweat and reeked of alcohol, and his hair was disheveled and messy, while his lips were chapping and his fingers were twitching on the bar countertop. He hated waiting around for something interesting to catch his eye, and he couldn't even distract himself with photography since he forgot his camera.

Feeling at a loss, he removed his wallet and set the required change on one of the tables, making sure to address it to Mai Victoria Valentine. He brushed down his shirt, fixed the collar of his pinstriped shirt and slipped on his jacket before reaching towards the door. He glanced through the windows, recognizing the freezing fog that still descended upon Chicago, Illinois in a thin veil.

"Impressive."

Yuugi stopped; his hand paused over the doorknob. He turned to his left, where a figure wearing a thick ski jacket, snow boots and smoking a fresh cigar sat comfortably at a table. He was alone, fiddling with a stack of dusty old cards. The strange lighting in the bar made it almost impossible to see his face, but Yuugi could scope a strong jawline and a faint hint of five o'clock shadow. Whiskers marked his chin, but other than that his features were concealed behind a stripe of mystery.

Yuugi looked around him, wondering if the stranger was actually talking to him. He gestured to himself, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, you," the stranger muttered, sounding only slightly amused. "You've stayed here for little more than four straight hours, alone, guzzling down alcohol like a thirsty goose…" the voice was rocky and brittle, like it belonged to someone much older even his broad posture and shoulders seemed to betray that idea. "I wouldn't go out there though, if I were you."

Yuugi really didn't have time for this. Sure, it was surprisingly nice to hear someone else bother to speak up and talk to him after sulking in front of the bar for three fucking hours, but this was a little ridiculous. His muscles twitched and ached from sitting for so long and his mind was still hazy from all the alcohol—he either needed to walk back to his apartment complex (which was, in turn, only a two-minute walk away from the university) or take a cab.

"Aren't you going to ask me why?" the man inquired.

The student almost rolled his eyes. _Almost. _"I actually need to get back. I'm a student around here." Why was he explaining himself? _You don't have to, you know. Just because someone instigates a conversation doesn't mean you have to follow through with it. _

The man persisted. "At this time of night… strange things happen."

"Oh really."

"Some say that you can meet eye-to-eye with a dangerous pirate, or even escape into a huge forest where a talking leopard resides. There are evil stories out there, young lad." Yuugi had officially turned away from the door, his gloved hands clenched around his arms and his appendages folded across his chest in both a curious and stubborn motion. He didn't want to believe a word this man said, and besides, he was probably drunk off his rocker. "Witches, demons, serpents, faeries… they exist."

Suddenly, the lights dimmed, and the other guests began to vanish in Yuugi's viewpoint. He noticed then that the mugs Mai Valentine had once been cleaning were sorted away into the shelves, and he was left alone with the strange man. Perhaps it was the alcohol buzzing through his system, or maybe he fell asleep after Mai started talking to him. A thousand possibilities circulated through his mind like a separate track from the jukebox, and speaking of the blasted machine, nothing was playing.

Not music, anyway. Instead, a brew of sounds that resembled gentle waves replaced alternative rock and jazz. The chirping of gulls popped in every now and then, and the subtle changes made Yuugi's skin lift in goose bumps. He glanced towards the strange man in the ski clothes, and willed himself to step out of the door and forget this ever happened. Or at least wake up, if that was truly the case.

"Ah, the gentle sounds of the ocean. Such a lovely melody, ain't it?" He continued fiddling with the cards, and he lifted his shadowed face in Yuugi's direction. "Come over here, boy. I have something to show you."

Of course, he hesitated. But if this was a dream…

"And if I don't?"

"You'll regret it." The scent of moisture and salt drifted through the bar, and the sounds emitting from the jukebox turned richer. Yuugi dipped his head, pushing away the condescending thoughts that barked at him and told him he had no choice, but most likely his alcoholic subconscious was playing tricks on him.

His feet carried him over to the stool across from the mysterious stranger, where he placed his gloved hands on the tabletop and watched the other's nimble fingers shuffle cards. Up close, he glimpsed the further, strong outline of his jaw and the scent of smoke wafted from his gnawing mouth. Locks of greasy ash-colored hair slipped beneath the hood, and soon it reminded Yuugi of a retired worker basking in wood smoke and oil.

"Tell me, Yuugi."

Yuugi's eyes shot wide. "How… do you know my name?" He shook his head. This had to be a dream, then. Now there was no doubt in his mind. Even dozing off and having momentary visions weren't as rich as this one moment between he and the weird man.

"I have my resources. Of course, you have struck me as a very intelligent, yet lonely, young man. Perhaps you would care to explain your predicament to me or, better yet, tell me why you detest your own imagination?" His words rocked back and forth on a scale.

Yuugi felt a bead of sweat trail his temple. "I don't know—"

"Your imagination. You hate it. You can't stand living in your childish mannerisms. You seem to… detest life, in a way. You have no forgiveness for those that want to delve into another world and envision life in a different way. Even when you appeared to be one of those people at one point. Am I not mistaken, young Yuugi?"

"You don't know anything about me." Gemstone eyes narrowed and glimmered with a jab of dissatisfaction and anger. Something else dwelled in those pools, but certain emotions had to be shielded until the time was right.

Yuugi really had no idea why his mind was doing this to him. And even so, why was this dream starting to become a clichéd nightmare?

"You are wrong." The man then spread out the cards in his hands, the pieces of colorful parchment spread in a neat, swift arc in front of Yuugi. The boy's eyes widened considerably at this, but he refused to ask what they meant; however, they all looked interesting and like no other card he'd seen before.

Each card resembled some sort of… mythological creature, from what Yuugi could tell. He felt his skin bristle from the cold drifting through the window cracks, and he realized with a jolt that it wasn't the temperature that was bothering him—a dagger of fear stabbed his senses, and he tried to rip his eyes away from the images displayed on the cards. With the monogrammed edges, tentative colorful borders and designs, each card had one of the creatures shown in the middle and _moving _backgrounds that displayed a different scenery.

The first card was incredible to look at; the designing was just impeccable, and the satisfaction of a true artist would have delved into this piece of work. The border rippled in aquamarine waves, leading to the silver crescent moon on the top middle. Against the startlingly calm and beautiful background of a painted ocean, flying seagulls and octopus tentacles curling around stones, was a man. His design was quite simple compared to the rest of the card, but from what Yuugi could tell he seemed to be donned in chains, dark clothing and wearing a long blade at his hip. Then Yuugi recognized the last item drifting on the fake sea: a ship.

The first card was of a pirate.

"Why are you showing this to me?" Yuugi murmured, confusion jostling him as if he was submerged in the card's ocean. "I don't understand why I'm dreaming this up, but it really doesn't make any sense and I would really like to wake up now."

He waited. Minutes passed, and then after what seemed like an hour rippled through the air like melted butter, Yuugi's temper cracked. He glared at the strange man, who was smirking confidently, where a row of sharp yellow teeth poked from beneath his revealed lip. He seemed scarier than Yuugi had expected, but he still couldn't glimpse over the rest of his face, or even take sight of his eyes.

There was something very, very wrong.

"You think this is a _dream_?"

Just the way the stranger said those words—with so much confidence and practiced finesse, made Yuugi's skin crawl.

"It has to be," he replied defiantly. He was too tired to actually believe that this couldn't be a dream; a figment of his subconscious, designed from the core to mistreat his sense of reality and pull him into another dimension. The strange thing was… honestly, he didn't remember falling asleep. He recalled trying to walk out the door, in hopes of gracing the presence of the sidewalk, the city, the passersby, and try to get a cab as soon as possible.

He swallowed a growing lump in his throat. Maybe… maybe this wasn't such a great situation, after all. His bones turned cold and his blood chilled to ice as realization set in, and he bristled once he realized he couldn't move from his seat—the man across from him released a dark chuckle.

"I suppose you're finally figuring this out." He paused. "Tell me, Yuugi, do you like stories? Children's tales of magic and monsters that ruled your fancy at one point in your sheltered, lonely life?"

Yuugi growled. "Let me go from… whatever this is. Let me out. Let me wake _up_." He felt powerless.

"I will not," the man insisted, gesturing with a flick of his head towards the first card. The pirate did not move like the rest of the image, but the confident stance and shining silver hilt of the blade started to unsettle Yuugi even more. "For you are now a part of something spectacular, my human friend. You will see exactly what's in store for you in due time, but for now I think it's time for you to get _acquainted _with a new world."

* * *

_Frigid alcohol left his throat in a burning trail. His teeth chattering from the remaining coldness of the drink, his skin layered over with sweat and his hair streaked through with the further dampness. His fingers practically shook against the rhythm of the pulsing jukebox and the disc jockey standing on top of a collection of randomly assorted blocks. Guitar solos and thumping rap music collided in a match made in hell._

_Dozens of people came to _The Blackjack _on Thursdays and Fridays, where karaoke, gambling and other casual games were abundant in supply. With his head buried into his hands, the lone man could barely fathom why he was there in the first place. The curls of snowy air that slipped through the door cracks and ceiling made him shiver, and the horrible stench of beer and sex leaked into the air like a chopped up sewage pipe. Each minute felt like one long, miserable hour, and each long, miserable hour felt like a day. _

_He stiffened, his shoulders tensing and his muscles recoiling as he felt his personal space being invaded. Before he could speak, a hefty figure brushed against him and pushed him aside in his own seat, beckoning towards two other brawn shadows to slip around him. Normally he would have just asked them to leave him alone, but exhaustion was already beginning to throb in his temples and his senses were blurring together. He grimaced, his face pressing close against the window. The stranger whispered to his friends, muttering curses under his breath and it was then that the student could smell the alcohol on the other's breath. _

_He only started to panic when he felt the other inch closer to him, breaking his barrier of personal space, and run one beefy hand along his leg until it rested on his thigh, dangerously close—_

* * *

Sharp violet orbs blinked open towards a crisp periwinkle sky. The image crumbled once the details of the glaring sun in the west and the patterns of crisscrossed clouds settled in his thumping, confused mind, he wriggled in whatever position he was in, and grumbled in confusion of where he was. His fingers drifted down his shirt, fingering the pattern of the dark blue pinstripes and the stained white fabric. He grimaced, shifting against the strange feeling of grainy material against his bare hands and wrists.

Blinking, he jolted up, as sudden panic entered his system. From as far as he could see, a crisp, open beach surrounded him, with sand as white as the clouds above and a calm ocean spread out before it. Bubbling foam topped the waves as they rolled onto shore, and the chirping of gulls echoed above him. From the corner of his eye he could see a fat squirrel harvesting shells from under the sand, where a crab quickly stood up to fight it for ownership.

A searing pain throbbed in his left temple and he grimaced, rubbing his forehead in defeated anger. He didn't know how he got here, and honestly… he couldn't exactly _remember_. Cautiously, he tried thinking of what happened before, of a day, or a minute of a prior occurrence or explanation as to how he was stranded on an abandoned beach with no sight of human life.

But he was greeted with nothing. Nothing but… a questionable void, with not one answer to speculate. Only one aspect of his bottomless searching rebounded and shouted in his mind: _Yuugi_. He suspected that this was his name, but he couldn't remember the mother or father that would have given him such a name, or the place where he called home, or a sister or brother if he had one… no, only that one word, that one single name, let him know that he was real and that he wasn't having an awful nightmare.

His hands drifted to his pockets, hoping to find something—_anything_—that would remind him of his identity. His left hand scoured the deepest pits of his jeans and he found absolutely nothing; no wallet, no identification, no money, _nothing_. But his right hand… he pulled out a slim, somehow familiar rectangular card.

It was a card showing a tranquil, enchanted ocean circulating behind a handsome pirate. Suddenly, the ribbon below the pirate began to shift in a fake wind, and black, slender letters began to morph onto the surface.

**THE BLIGHTER**

Yuugi noticed with a quick once-over of the card that the ribbon was not completely filled out; an empty, smaller ribbon was underneath, awaiting another word to grace its presence.

This greatly intrigued him. Of course, he had no idea who this person was, but apparently it was his only clue to finding out exactly what happened. Maybe this was mean to be; whatever happened, he needed to find out soon, as he felt there was an impending danger ahead of him somewhere, beckoning for him.

And suddenly, the silence was broken. He felt a painful, searing pain delve into the nape of his neck, and he willed himself to remain still. He closed his eyes, grimacing as he heard footsteps shuffle in the sand and more sharp pricks flicker against his skin, accompanied by curious whispers as the sudden smells of rotten fish and sea salt spurred in the air. He swallowed, fear pulsing through his veins like secondary currents of blood.

"Eh, where d'you think this dick came from?" a strangled, burly voice questioned, and Yuugi dared not to open his eyes. He shifted in his seat and ground his teeth as a hefty, beefy hand snatched his shoulder and pulled him to his feet. Another voice broke into the air.

"Who knows? His clothes are fucking strange. We should show Cap'n." This stone was much more sour, almost bitter to the sound as if he swallowed a lemon and extracted the juice onto his tongue. "Although…" Yuugi's eyes bolted wide in shock as the sword pressed deeper and he was shoved into the sand in front of him.

He needed to be careful, and glared sharply as the second man who spoke—tall, muscular in form and with skin the color of coffee—snatched the mysterious card from his hands and paid no mind to the irritated look on his face. As he was distracted, Yuugi took these spare moments to observe his attackers.

They were all strong in appearance, though dressed in manners that struck him as odd. Wearing leather and animal skins, they strode in boots and bare feet, covered in bruises, fresh cuts and battle-scars, and they boasted an air of aggression that anyone else would normally find on animals. Yet behind that animalistic glimmer in their frigid gazes, they held a certain kind of intelligence, despite their crumbled language.

Despite their shortcomings, Yuugi knew that he wouldn't be able to escape them weaponless and armor-less.

"He might be a witch! Look at those eyes! And this weird paper…"

"No thoughts till the Cap'n sees! Understand, One-Eye?" The first man snarled, saliva dripping from his fang-like teeth. Yuugi wanted to scamper off and find some sort of weapon to hold them off while he ran, but another part of him told him to remain and see what became of this. After all, he couldn't recall a single memory other than his name… if that was what it was, and these strange savages didn't seem to have a single clue on what the card was.

"Whatever Johnny… eh, this card looks like the Cap'n though! What's it say on the bottom?"

"Let me see that."

"No! You'll rip it!"

Yuugi turned over onto his back, staring in confusion towards the bantering gathering of men with too much testosterone for their own good. They were clearly human like him, but something about them seemed very… off; maybe it had to do with the numerous markings engraved onto their skin, like the tattoos of mythical creatures and odd scars that resembled talon scrapings. Their locks of hair were long, tattered and strung up in either messy braids, clumps or just set loose to tangle up in the forest's branches.

"You!" the third man exclaimed, pouncing on Yuugi. He slammed his blunt weapon into the ground—a spiked mace, Yuugi noticed, that could have easily bashed his blooded face in if this brute weren't careful.

Yuugi breathed shakily at the close proximity between them and winced as the other's foul breath reached his nose. Up close, this savage was utterly terrifying: his gaunt face was burned around the jawline, teeth stiff and clenched and wide, wide eyes boiled yellow. He smelled like a plant of sorts, mixed with seaweed, blood and fish.

"Where've you _come from_, shark-bait?" the stranger hissed.

Yuugi hesitated, though he let his brow furrow to show at least a little backbone. He might need it. "I… don't know," he admitted truthfully. "I swear that I have no idea where I've come from. I woke up here, on the beach, with that card in my pocket and nothing else."

"He's a wizard, or an oracle!" the paranoid savage murmured. Apparently he was named One-Eye, and Yuugi could tell, as a thick leather patch covered one of his sockets. "Look at 'em! Those eyes are like gems! They can't be real!"

Yuugi flushed at the comparison and grimaced as the man on top of him grabbed his chin and turned his face left and right. He imagined how strange he looked right now—he could barely remember what he looked like, but he knew that he was quite short in comparison to these strangers and his skin was very pale under the sunlight.

The other man tilted his head to the side and smirked. "Heh. Might be a wizard. Too pretty to be human." He snarled and backed off, taking out a long, curved sword and drawing it under Yuugi's chin. The male stiffened, but decided that moving would only result worse results. "I don't believe ye, little boy. But I have no choice. The Cap'n will know what to do with ye." He scowled, thick lips bunched up, and his golden nose ring glittered in the sun. "Get the fuck off the sand, boy! And dust yerself off."

"You're letting 'em _live_, Leovold?" one of the savages demanded, his voice grating like chalk against glass. "He's a strange one! Could be plottin' to overthrow the Cap'n."

Leovold—who seemed to be the smartest of the trio of… what were they? Islander bandits? Yuugi shook his head and forced himself to stand up, brushing sand from his already tattered clothes and looking the strange man defiantly in the eye.

"What's this, boy?" Leovold snarled, holding up the card with a risen eyebrow. "Looks like our cap'n, it does. Where'd ya find it?"

"I _told _you—"

"He's a witch! Let 'em die and rot in the sand Leovold!"

Leovold scowled towards the other islanders and raked his intimidating yellow eyes over Yuugi's shaking form. The teen tried to find comfort in the growing breeze and the familiar salty tang of the ocean, but none of that was going to silence the screaming panic in his head. There were over a dozen things that these men could do to him right now, and he wanted no part of it.

"Take 'em to Cap'n."

Yuugi bolted.

Blindly, of course, as he had no idea where he was or where he was heading, but getting away from those islanders was his priority. His legs carried him through the dense forest, where the branches swooped low and strong and threatened to break his dash every five seconds. Canopies of colorful reddish-brown and emerald leaves draped overhead. If he had time to stop and observe the beauty he would have.

He heard them screaming, shouting curses behind him. The sound of swords slapping against wood and vines, chopping plantation to bits sent warning signals through his brain. No matter what, he needed to get away, and _now_. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and pumped his heart into overdrive.

"Get back 'ere!"

He wasn't running fast enough. They were coming closer, and he knew that his shorter legs and harsher stamina would only make him a sitting duck. He had no other option but to find a place to hide. Braking his shoes against the foliage, he dashed behind a tree and pressed his back against it. He glanced around the corner, watching, waiting, hoping that they would pass and leave his trail in the dirt. He gulped, closing his eyes and ignoring the drumming pain in his muscles.

And then, something familiarly sharp poked against his neck. He stiffened, subconsciously backing up against the tree. His eyes widened to the size of dinner saucers, until he allowed his head to turn, to stare into the terrifying gaze of his attacker. The needlepoint against his neck belonged to a long, dangerous-looking blade, and the person holding it resembled it in every way.

He was taller than him, and seemed oddly familiar. His stance was powerful and commanding, with a slender, toned physique hidden underneath layers of twining chains, leather materials and a long-sleeved white shirt that was unbuttoned all the way down to his chest, exposing sculpted, tanned muscles. Interestingly enough, the stranger clearly had a fascination with tough material, and smudges of what looked like eyeliner could be seen lining underneath those startling lavender eyes.

But the look in this pair of orbs was outright murderous.

"_You_," the stranger started, "where have you come from, stranger?"

Yuugi slowly shook his head, swallowing. "I—"

"Captain!"

The islanders. Yuugi blanched and struggled to move but the stranger grasped his shoulders and kept him stilled against the tree, that previously animalistic look suddenly fading from his exotic features.

Without looking away from Yuugi, the new stranger addressed the islanders that followed him there. "Leovold, what do you want?"

"Cap'n…" Leovold began, but looked only slightly surprised that Yuugi was now caught in the hands of their captain. Clearly, they had a lot of respect towards their apparent leader. And these were obviously no ordinary islanders… "You caught 'em! The strange boy at the beach! We chased him here but it's good you captured 'em."

"Indeed." He didn't sound the least bit impressed. Backing away slightly, he removed the sword from Yuugi's throat and sheathed it. It was then that the amnesiac male noticed the extravagant leather jacket billowing from the threatening stranger like a tattered cape. "Where have you come from?"

"He's a witch!"

"A thief, maybe… from some faraway land!"

"Cut the jabber!" Leovold snarled, and dipped his head respectfully. "Methinks he's got a plan against ya, Cap'n." And it was then that he pulled out the mysterious card, and in a flash the captain turned towards him with glimmering eyes.

"Give it to me," he demanded coldly. He swiped the card out of Leovold's hand and eyed the strange designs and the odd message carved onto the bottom. His eyebrows rose in interest, as he seemed to know exactly who was on the card. "… This is dark magic."

"I'm not a witch!" Yuugi exclaimed, his face already flushing. "Listen, I have no idea how I got here, okay? I'm not a witch, and I don't even know how I found that card in my pocket!" He rubbed his forehead and shook his head. "I don't even know who _you _are."

The man stared at him quizzically, one hand (which Yuugi noticed was adorned with rings made of bones and gems) inspecting the card. He reminded Yuugi of a confused cat, indecisive with its choices of prey. He finally turned to Yuugi with a furrowed brow.

"You're coming with us."

Yuugi blinked. "Wait, I—," he squeaked and backed up as the other drew his sword out and had him pinned against the tree in less than two seconds. That… was probably going to get very annoying rather quickly. He stared through the other man's eyes and willed himself to speak up again, but he couldn't find his voice.

"You're coming _with us _to tell me _how _you have a magical card with my image on it."

Yuugi frowned.

He didn't exactly remember what the person on the card looked like, but if what this man said was true… he snapped out of his thoughts, trailing his gaze down the other man and noticing something that hadn't caught his eye before: a small wooden cage, barely the size of a finch, with a floating ball of light trapped inside. It seemed to flutter around like an insect of sorts, but it emitted a different essence, something that called to him and let him know that he wasn't alone in this odd situation.

The captain scowled and sheathed his sword for a second time. "Leovold, wrap him in chains and bring him to my ship. I'll interrogate him soon enough." He grasped Yuugi's collar and pulled him towards him, the intensity between their shortened distance making the younger bite his lip and his heart speed up. "Don't cross me, _shark-bait_. Your fate lies in my hands now."

And then he released him, but not before shoving the card into his hands and pushing him towards his followers. The islanders snatched his arms and clasped his wrists into painfully heavy irons, clasping them behind his back and restraining his movements. He looked up and slightly panicked, but his attention diverted to the wooden cage on the captain's belt, and he tried not to piece two and two of what he feared was reality.

"You will learn to show respect," the captain continued, bristling as he turned around and glared at the others as they trailed his footsteps through the dense forest. "Not everyone manages to live in the presence of Captain Yami Hook."


End file.
